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Brewster Buffalo (Tamiya 1/48)

Started by Dmitry Stropalov · 88 ≡ · ↻ 5 years ago · buffalo, Tamiya

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Dmitry Stropalov said 8 years, 3 months ago:

Adding rivets is a long story... a lot of work to be done.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Dmitry Stropalov said 6 years, 2 months ago:

After 2 years, when kit was laying abandoned on a shelf, I've decided to re-start this build, so here are some results. Riveting of wings is almost done – I need to finish 2/3 of the upper side of the left wing. It's a very time consuming job, because I use not only riveter but also a needle to work out every rivet by hand than.
3 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Mark Rezac said 6 years, 2 months ago:

That Tamiya Buffalo is a nice older kit but rather scarce in detail. I absolutely love what you’ve done to the wheel wells, cockpit and fuselage interior. I am very much looking forward to your continued progress. Personally I like the Finnish Buffalo but I’m sure it’s going to be a beauty regardless of what scheme you choose.
Dmitry Stropalov said 6 years, 2 months ago:

@markrezac Thanks, Mark! I want this Buffalo to have that downside "window", and it was available only on US versions.
Mark Rezac said 6 years, 2 months ago:

Uh oh! Hahahha. I was saddened to read your response as I’ve built this kit about eight years ago and took great pains to scratch build the see-through floor and detail the cockpit. As you can see from the pictures, I seem to have made a critical error on the window :-).
I wish I had met you sooner!
4 attached images. Click to enlarge.
David Mills said 6 years, 2 months ago:

Nice work Dimitry lovely to see this kit updated!
Dmitry Stropalov said 6 years, 2 months ago:

@markrezac oh, sorry for that 🙂 I've started comparing Tamiya's paint options with historical references and found that fact. But, anyway, you did a good job with your model!

@davem Thanks, David! I also feel good about working on it. All of those unfinished kits make me very uncomfortable in a hobby shop 🙂
Dmitry Stropalov said 6 years, 2 months ago:

Wing and one stabilizer are finished – riveting is done. I've tried another one new technology for me – after riveting surface should be polished, but how to remove dust from "rivets" after that? Answer is to use water based tempera paints: at first you apply it, then do sanding, and then remove tempera with water.

Stabilizer:

Wing:

I've added ribs to the underneath window. Also, seams between clear part and fuselage were too visible, so I've glued a small amount of plastic along the perimeter.
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said 6 years, 2 months ago:

That undeside window was a feature of 30s U.S. Naval fighters, Buffalo, Corsair, and Wildcat. Believe it or not, the Corsair prototype had small bomb bays in the wings, and the theory (later war both both the Japanese and Germans tried it) being to bomb (I think) other aircraft! Eventually, the windows were plated over, painted over or just let go. More likely for carrrier landings, also, given the problems seeing over the nose coming aboard.
Greg Kittinger said 6 years, 2 months ago:

Fantastic tip on using the tempera paint! I'm definitely going to try that!

Love what you've done so far - coming along very well.
Dmitry Stropalov said 6 years, 2 months ago:

@berniehackettboymodeler That's why I'm doing US Navy version – because of that window 🙂

@gkittinger Thanks, Greg!

Not much updates, I was able to finish riveting of a fuselage parts, and that's all. But, finally I'm moving back to cockpit stuff.
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said 6 years, 2 months ago:

Dmitry, you're pulling out all the stops on this! It's good to see the Buffalo get some attention. I'm looking forward to seeing it when its finished.
Dmitry Stropalov said 6 years, 2 months ago:

A small update. I've made a wall between the cockpit and the wheel bay – for some unknown reason kit lacks this detail. I've added additional pipelines made of soldering wire (very handy material for such purposes), and primed everything with Mr.Surfacer 1500.

The next question was – in which color an interior of F2A-2 was painted? After some searches I've found information, that cockpits and wheel bays of F2A-1 and F2A-2 were painted with silver lacquer, but around a pilot seat areas were painted with anti-glare black, so I did the same on my model.

Cockpit was painted with Hataka lacquer "silver" and then gloss coated with the varnish of the same manufacturer (also lacquer) as a preparation for washes.
5 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Dmitry Stropalov said 6 years, 2 months ago:

Cockpit work is almost done. I've applied washes – as you can see, it's a mix of three oil paints with enamel thinner plus W&N Liquin for smoothness.

Instrumental panel is an Eduard's "sandwich", but front part got a layer of mat varnish, and after assembling I've used MiG A.094 Crystal Glass for instruments.

I'll need to work on pilot's seat and the rest of interior behind the pilot, but it's only after fuselage would be glued together.

And the rest of images:
8 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Mark Rezac said 6 years, 2 months ago:

Absolutely beautiful cockpit. Can’t wait to see more.

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